It only took 24 seconds before the Kings and Flyers game got real. A game that already had plenty of hype and emotion surrounding it got started in earnest when Flyers tough guy Zac Rinaldo caught Drew Doughty coming across the middle of the Flyers zone. To be clear: it was a clean hit from Rinaldo. Doughty saw him coming at the last minute, but it was a huge shoulder-to-shoulder check.
Doughty made it back to the ice for another shift before leaving the Kings bench and heading to the locker room. All in all, Doughty was on the ice for 1 minute and 34 seconds.
Doughty looked coherent after the hit and was seen working his shoulder on the bench afterwards, but it’s important to note that he suffered a concussion at the beginning of last season. He missed six games last season due to the concussion.
The Kings superstar blueliner did not return to the bench for the start of the 2nd period. The official word from the Kings PR department was an upper-body injury and he’s not expected to return to tonight’s game. We’ll keep you updated as details emerge.
Update (8:55pm EST): Kings PR says it is a “non-head injury” and the team expects Doughty to miss 7-10 days.